A Step-by-Step Process for Understanding God’s WordSample

Read the Passage; Then Notice the Details

After you’ve spent time in prayer, your next step is to read the passage to see what it says.

You aren’t trying to determine what the verses mean or how they apply to your life. Instead, temporarily set aside preconceived thoughts or ideas and do a straightforward, surface-level reading of the text. Focus primarily on the nouns and verbs within the passage to answer the question, Who does what? Your answer should be a simple sentence or two and include facts only.

Once you have an overview of the passage you chose, your next step is to notice as many details as possible. Depending on the length and complexity of the reading, you might find as many as thirty or forty details in one passage of Scripture.

Here are a few types of details you can look for:

• nouns (names of people, places, and things)
• verbs (action words)
• adjectives (descriptive words)
• repetition (words, phrases, ideas, or concepts)
• lists (for example, the fruits of the Spirit)
• comparison and contrast (look for words like and, but, while, however, or though)
• cause and effect (look for words like therefore, because, or for this reason)
• conditional clauses (phrases that include if … then)
• questions and answers

You might also ask:

• Who wrote this passage?
• Who is this passage written to or for?
• What is the passage’s genre (narrative, law, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, or epistle)?
• Where is this passage found within the Scripture (Old Testament, New Testament, etc.)?
• What happens immediately before or after this passage?
• What is the topic of the surrounding passages?
• What is the book about as a whole?
• What themes or patterns do I notice?

Don’t worry if you can’t answer all these questions right from the text. Some of this information may be found elsewhere in Scripture, in the notes provided in your study Bible, in Bible handbooks and history books, or trusted online sources.

We still aren’t drawing conclusions at this stage. We’re simply gathering interesting information that may or may not be helpful later.

Read Mark 4:1–9. What happens in this passage? Write a one-sentence summary of the passage, being careful not to add any additional information not found in the text. Then reread the passage. Make a list of at least fifteen individual details from the text, using the checklists above as guidance.